Time marches on, and we presently find ourselves in the month of Shevat. As usual, our goal is to extract the lessons that the month has to teach us. Come; let’s begin the journey.
The most well-known part of Shevat is Tu B’Shevat. What is the significance of this obscure day in the calendar? The first Mishnah in Maseches Rosh Hashanah explains that Tu B’Shevat is the “New Year for the Tree.” Rashi explains that the Mishnah is teaching about how the fruits that blossomed before Shevat must be part of a separate tithe calculation from the fruits that blossomed after Shevat. However, if this idea was all the Sages had in mind when they taught this Mishnah, why did they say “tree” in the singular? Shouldn’t they have said “trees”? This grammatical anomaly implies that Tu B’Shevat also carries significance with regard to a specific tree. But which tree can possibly carry such significance to be awarded its own day? And why should that special day be in the month of Shevat?
When thinking about which tree is unique in the Torah’s view, what jumps to mind is the most famous (or infamous) tree in Jewish history – the eitz ha’daas. The Torah describes how Adam and Chava were warned not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. As we all know, they failed the test and were consequently expelled from the idyllic existence of Eden. Death was decreed upon the world’s inhabitants. Adam would now eat by the “sweat of his brow” and Chava would “bear children in pain.” We all learned this story in kindergarten, but have we ever really understood it? Why were there such severe repercussions? Why was eating the fruit such an egregious crime? If we can understand this story, perhaps we can understand the significance of the Month of the Tree.
Let’s take a detour. Each month in the Jewish calendar is aligned with a tribe, with Shevat being aligned with Asher. This is definitely fitting, as the symbol on Asher’s flag was a tree. But what else do we know about Asher? Yaakov stated: “Asher’s bread will have richness, and he will provide kingly delicacies.” It seems that Asher is the wealthy tribe who never suffers from lack. Moshe similarly said, “The most blessed of children is Asher… he shall dip his feet in oil.” Oil is the symbol of prosperity.
The problem is, the Torah doesn’t really take such a kind view of being too involved with the temporal world. Messilas Yesharim writes in his first perek: “If a person allows himself to be drawn after the physical world, he will be distanced from the Creator.” The Chovos Halevovos writes similarly in the second perek of Sha’ar Avodas Elokim: “The inclination toward the physical is always being flexed (like a muscle), since a person is constantly eating, drinking, and taking care of his body. Therefore, the inclination toward the physical is far stronger than the inclination towards the spiritual.” It seems from these sources, that it is extremely important to limit our involvement with materialism. So where do Asher and his kingly delicacies fit into Judaism?
In order to answer these questions, here’s a story. Yankel is a religious man who lives his life according to the Torah. At the ripe old age of 120, he dies and ascends to the Heavenly Court. “Yankel Friedman, step forward! Please confirm your identity. Are you Yankel Friedman?” “Yes.” “You are Yankel Friedman of Brooklyn, New York?” “Yes.” “The lawyer?” “Yes.” “Yankel Friedman, the court is here today to reward you for the 35 years you spent in the service of the King of Kings.” Yankel interrupts: “There must be some mistake! I lived 120 years, not 35. You have the wrong file! I want reward for 120 years of service! The angels look over the file, but the information seems to be in order. It says here that Yankel only spent 35 out of 120 years serving Hashem.” “How can this be?” asks Yankel. The judge directs Yankel’s attention to the video screen where many numbers pop up. “Yankel, you spent 6 hours a day asleep. That adds up to 30 years. You spent 15 minutes on breakfast, a half hour on lunch, and 45 minutes on supper. An hour and a half every day for 120 years adds up to 7.5 years. Subtract another 7.5 years for the hour and a half you commuted every day. Then take off 40 more years for the 8 daily hours of your 9-5 job. That adds up to 85 years. All you have left, Yankel, is 35 years of avodas Hashem.” Yankel sputters in disbelief. “What do you want from my life?! If I didn’t work, I wouldn’t have food. If I didn’t eat, I would starve. And I had to sleep every day – after a long day of work! What do expect from me? You can’t chop off 85 years of my life just like that!” The malach gently responds, “Yankel, at the end of the day, for 85 years you weren’t serving Hashem; you were serving yourself.”
Perhaps now we can answer our questions. If you involve yourself in gashmiyus for your own sake, then you will indeed be distanced from your Creator. But it is possible to do all the above activities for Hashem’s sake. Imagines stopping for 10 seconds before eating a meal and thinking “Hashem wants me to take care of my body, so I’d better eat.” Imagine taking 10 seconds before going to sleep and thinking “If I don’t sleep, I won’t be able to do what Hashem asks of me tomorrow, so I’d better sleep.” Imagine taking 10 seconds before going to work and thinking, “I need to work so I can live my life the way Hashem wants me to.” Boom! In 30 seconds you just added 85 years of Avodas Hashem to your life.
Now let’s backtrack to Adam and Chava. Eating the fruit wasn’t in and of itself a crime. The crime was that in a world which was created to serve Hashem, Adam and Chava chose to serve themselves. This is what the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 16:7) means when it says that when Adam searched for a tree to give him leaves for clothing, all the trees shrank back and exclaimed, “Let not… arrogance come toward me!” It is the height of arrogance for a man who was given everything to selfishly serve himself instead of his Creator.
Let’s tie it all together. Asher’s kingly delicacies do have a place in Judaism. With proper kavana a person can use all that this world provides in the service of Hashem. This was all that Hashem ever asked of mankind – since the primeval command of the Tree of Knowledge. Perhaps that is why Asher is blessed with oil. While oil represents prosperity and excess, it is also the only liquid that can properly uphold a flame. Mishlei teaches “Ner mitzvah v’Torah ohr” – a mitzvah is a flame and Torah is light. The only way to have Torah and mitzvos is through the physical world. If we use Shevat as the time of learning how to use the physical for Hashem’s sake, perhaps we’ll merit using every moment of our lives in the service of the Creator. Have a meaningful Shevat.